Publicity - National PR for FFGR, Inc.!

Our organization has received word that our work will be mentioned on a nationally broadcasted radio program about pets. The program is broadcasted on WCCO News Radio 830. It will be aired today at around 3:00 p.m. central time. The topic discussed today will be Taking the Journey: When Serious Illness Occurs The speaker will be Dr. Todd Metcalf, of Harmony Veterinary Care, Prescott, Arizona. The work of our group will be mentioned and our Greyhound Adopter's Pledge will be read.

We are hoping to form a partnership with the folks at PetzLife who produce this radio program. We appreciate the work they do and for helping our group by recognizing our work (and Craiger's List).

Tune in via your computer to hear the program. You can also access the PetzLife web site by clicking on the subject of this blog post.

Rainbow Bridge - John M. Curly (John)

September 7, 2003 - July 26, 2010

Another sweet hound has left our FFGR, Inc. family.

Several weeks ago, Dana Rinehart called me to tell me that her precious hound, John, had just been diagnosed with the dreaded osteo. John was not quite seven years old. She and her husband David adopted John from our group several years ago. According to Dana, his cancer was caught relatively early. At the time she did not know what to do but was faced with the hard decision about whether to have John go through surgery for an amputation or to do pain management and give him what time was left.

Like everyone who is faced with a difficult decision to make regarding what would be best for our hounds, she struggled with the decision and decided to have the amputation done. However, the morning it was scheduled she could not go through with it.

She made a change in her decision a few days later when John went through a painful night. The surgery was done and John went into the recovery room. The surgery was considered a success. However, a short time later, John died of a heart problem.

John was a really beautiful blue brindle boy and he had a very gentle and quiet nature. I know he had a wonderful home and it was very obvious that he was greatly loved and cherished. We are so sorry for Dana and her family and we understand their deep sense of loss.

The Rineharts gave John the gift of their love. That is all that any greyhound deserves. Run free at the bridge John. You were greatly loved and will always be remembered.

Emergency Auction for Greyhounds

Thursday evening, July 8, Fort Worth Animal Control Cruelty Investigation Officers took 28 dogs (mostly greyhounds and sight hounds)into custody. Greyhound Adoption League of Texas (GALT) was contacted as greyhounds were included in the seize. At GALTs request, Greyhounds Unlimited was notified and they also joined in this effort. GALT and GU are the only adoption groups in the DFW/north Texas area equipped to help stray and shelter greyhounds. Friday morning, representatives from GALT and GU met with Diane Whiteley, the Executive Director of the Texas Greyhound Association, to assess the dogs. The greyhounds were taken in by GALT and GU and a number of other rescue groups took in other breeds included in the seizure. A total of seventeen greyhounds were in the seizure of dogs. There are videos and pictures on their websites which are very hard to watch.

The condition of the greyhounds was absolutely appalling and shocking. Weights on the females and males range from 35 to 51 pounds. Besides being extremely thin, each dog was covered with more ticks than can ever be imagined. These groups will have enormous medical bills in order to bring these greyhounds back to health. Unfortunately, one greyhound (Braden) was in such bad condition that all attempts of save him failed. He did not make it through his ordeal. Many of the greyhounds have been diagnosed with erhlichia and heartworm disease.

Because of the enormity of the veterinarian and other bills associated with helping these dogs get healthy again, an emergency Carpe Canem Auction is now running to help earn funds for the groups that are caring for the dogs.

There are hundreds of wonderful items being offered on this auction and anything you bid on will be directly used to help these dogs and the groups caring for them.

Our group has donated four items for this auction. Please consider helping by bidding on the items on this auction. You can access the auction web site by clicking on the title of this post.

Events - Meet and Greet Schedule Changes

Thanks to our wonderful volunteers, we have made some changes in our meet and greet schedule that should make us even more available for meeting potential adopters! Right now we have a most impressive meet and greet schedule!!! Here is what has changed:

Dan will be hosting a new meet and greet at the Petco on the Golden Mile in Frederick. We have that scheduled for the next three months to coincide with their National Adoption Weekend which is usually on the third weekend of each month. This month, July, it will be held on the fourth Saturday because of other scheduled events at their store but will go back to the third weekend in August; that is when Dan will be there.

Megan will be taking over Dan's meet and greet at the Frederick Petsmart on the first Saturday of each month. Thanks Megan!

We are rescheduling our meet and greets at the Hagerstown Petco from the first Sunday of each month to the third Sunday of each month. That will coincide with their National Adoption Weekend. Mary and Mike will be taking this over in August.

Jimmy has held an "extra" meet and greet at the Petco in Ranson for this past year to coincide with their adoption weekends too. This is in addition to his regularly scheduled one at Petco on the second Saturday of the month and the Martinsburg Petsmart on the third Saturday of each month. AND he also helps at the Country Club Mall in Cumberland on the fourth Saturday of each month!

We will still be holding a meet and greet at the Frederick County Humane Society on the third Saturday of each month and Megan is volunteering to host that as well!

AND, all of our other meet and greet locations are still in place; we thank those volunteers for hosting these events each month.

We have not scheduled any outdoor events this summer even though we've been invited to a number of venues. We feel that it's been way too hot for our hounds (and us!) and it's not worth risking the health of a dog (or person) to do these. As soon as things cool down a little we can revisit those possibilities as they come up.

We have been invited to vend at the Maryland GPA picnic to be held on September 19 and we think that will be a lot of fun! That usually brings out a lot of people and their hounds.

Thanks to EVERYONE who is willing to continually give of their time each month to host a meet and greet for our group. It ABSOLUTELY makes a difference! Most of our applications come from these meet and greet events. Please know that we are aware of how much time and effort it takes to do this and it is greytly appreciated!

Please check our events calendar on out web site often; in addition to our regular meet and greet events, we are always adding new events when they are scheduled.

Abdo Ruby Girl - Ruby

March 16, 1999 - July 10, 2010

We are so sorry to report the loss of another one of our FFGR, Inc. hounds. Jonathan and Ashley Lake came to our group in early 2007; at the time they were thinking of adopting a dog. What is different about them was that they had never had a dog before. They visited our meet and greet events and talked to us over time about the possibility of adopting a greyhound. We could tell that they were taking the whole process very seriously and thinking this all out. They finally decided to adopt a greyhound. We suggested that they adopt an older hound because it would be easier having a dog that was used to being in a home and was more settled. They actually trusted our judgement and agreed to adopt an older dog.

We found Ruby for them. At the time Ruby was eight years old. Jonathan and Ashley not only did not mind adopting an older dog, but did very well with her, far exceeding our expectations! They did wonderfully. Ruby was their pride and joy and she was greatly loved and cherished.

We learned that Ruby got very ill and was rushed to the vet. She did not pull through. Ruby was eleven years old. We know that Ruby could not have had a better and more loving home with people who cared enough about her to do the right thing from the very beginning.

Ruby was one of the most photogenic hounds our group has ever seen (and Ashley is a good photographer!). Ruby's photos are on our web site in several places and she has been on the home page a number of times.

Ruby was a very special dog, but Ashley and Jonathan are very special people. They know how wonderful the senior dogs are and they gave Ruby the absolutely best home she could have ever had. Ashley is a loyal volunteer and attends many of our meet and greet events. We are lucky to have met them and honored to know them; but we are gratified that Ruby had such a wonderful life because of them.

Godspeed Ruby; look for all the rest of the FFGR, Inc. hounds that will be waiting for you at the bridge!

Rainbow Bridge - Sl Chattanoga (Chatty)

April 1, 2007 - July 2, 2010

There are times when it's harder than other times to face the fact that a greyhound has passed on. While we know that as dogs get older we will eventually have to think about them leaving us, the loss of a very young dog hits us all the hardest. This is one of those times. Rhonda and Dave have lost their greyhound, Chatty, suddenly and unexpectedly.

Chatty was a young girl when she came into our group. We brought her here for a couple who returned her for a number of issues (and which we all ageed on who knew this, that the issue was not with Chatty). Rhonda and Dave were looking for another greyhound at that time and they decided to foster Chatty. The rest is history.

What makes this so awful is that Chatty was only three years old (she was three years old on April 1). Chatty was a representative at Rhonda's meet and greet each month at the Chambersburg Petsmart. She was also Dave's traveling companion. She went with him on all of his long distance drives and loved the drive and meeting new people. She was a unique dog; she was full of personality; everyone who met her really loved her and all of us always had to laugh at her exploits. She was happy and energetic, so much still a puppy. She knew her limits with dogs bothering her and stood her ground when she needed to but was so good with Rhonda's daughter Nicole and she loved her family. She never stopped trying to chase the cat!

Chatty and Cassey (Rhonda's other greyhound) were with Rhonda and Dave at Grapehounds in Virginia recenly. Chatty spent time in the x-pen with the other hounds during our event and they had a great time.

We know how terrible this has been for Rhonda and Dave. No one can ever prepare for this type of heartbreak. Rhonda has been hosting meet and greets for our group for almost as long as we have had the group! She was always there when we needed her and no matter what happened in her life, she always found a way to be at her meet and greets.

She rescheduled many of her meet and greets when her daughter, Nicole, had serious medical problems and faced surgery and many doctor visits over many months. But Rhonda never missed a month. She also rescheduled her meet and greet events when her mother had heart surgery. She has never missed a month. She has always been there.

We can only imagine how hard it must be to lose a young dog so suddenly without explanation.

Godspeed Chatty. You have been loved by many.

Events - New Meet and Greet Venue!

A new Petco has arrived in Frederick, Maryland! And Fast Friends Greyhound Rescue, Inc. is one of the first adoption groups to get on the meet and greet schedule! The new Petco is located along the "Golden Mile" on Route 40 in Frederick. It is in the same location as where the old Super Petz was located for many years. Although our group had some meet and greet events at the Super Petz, it was not a high traffic store and we did not feel that it was worth the effort to take our dogs there. However, with the new Petco, the traffic has already improved a great deal!

The manager was thrilled that we stopped in and put us on the schedule right away! Our first meet and greet is scheduled for Saturday, July 24 which also coincides with Petco's National Adoption weekend.

The new Petco store is going through some major renovations to bring it up to the standards of the other stores; however, this store is already getting good reviews from the customers.

If you would like to visit us, the address is 1275 West Patrick Street, Frederick, Maryland. We will be holding this event from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. We will have available dogs at this event. Future events at the store will also be held during Petco's National Adoption weekends. Check our calendar of events on our web site for future dates.

Rainbow Bridge - AJR Hardwayten

AJR - Hardwayten - Lacey
July 26, 2004 - June 29, 2010

We are sad to report that another greyt adopter lost her beloved greyhound to a long term illness. Claire Exten has loved Lacey since she adopted her in July 2007. Lacey was adopted along with Rocky and the two dogs were constant companions. Along with Claire, they were a loving family sharing many good times together.

Several months ago, Lacey became ill and traveled back and forth to the vet to be treated for a number of issues that never really amounted to a definite diagnosis. While at times Lacey seemed to feel much better and be "back to normal", she would then get ill again and each time she would be sicker.

Finally, the pain was too much for Lacey to bear and Claire had to make the very painful and difficult decision to continue on the same path with little improvements, or to end Lacey's suffering. The last bout of illness took away any doubt and Claire released Lacey from her pain.

Claire is devastated to lose a fairly young dog to an illness that was never diagnosed (but not from lack of vet care and trying). We know that Lacey had the best care and most love that any greyhound could get. While we are sad that Lacey is gone, we know that Claire gave her a most wonderful and loving home.

God speed sweet Lacey.